The world is in the midst of a major energy crisis, and governments and companies are scrambling to find alternatives to fossil fuels. One promising solution is geothermal energy, a clean and reliable source of electricity that has been largely untapped until now. Geothermal energy harnesses the Earth's internal heat, which can be used to drive turbines and generate electricity. While traditional geothermal plants have been limited to areas with high surface heat, such as geysers and volcanoes, new deep drilling techniques are opening up access to superhot rocks at temperatures above 350°C. This is where Geothermal 2.0 comes in, a groundbreaking technology that could revolutionize the energy sector. Our collaborative research with the Clean Air Task Force has provided the first global overview of superhot rock geothermal potential, showing that this energy source is available even in regions with little or no volcanic activity, such as Australia. Geothermal 2.0 is a game-changer because it can produce power steadily, unaffected by weather or day-night cycles, and can be built much faster and more cheaply than nuclear power. In fact, US researchers estimate that geothermal could supply up to three times as much power as nuclear within 25 years. More than two dozen countries are working to build more next-generation geothermal power, and the technology is already being used in countries like Iceland, New Zealand, the US, Japan, China, and several European Union nations. The key to Geothermal 2.0 is its ability to drill into much deeper and hotter parts of the crust than ever before. Drillers can now reach depths of 5 kilometers to target superhot rocks, whose temperatures can exceed 350°C. Even newer methods could reach depths of 10 kilometers. Under extreme heat and pressure, water at these depths changes into a supercritical fluid, which can carry up to ten times more energy than either steam or liquid water. This makes geothermal energy much more powerful and scalable. In fact, researchers estimate that tapping 1% of the world's superhot rocks could meet global electricity demand eight times over. But superhot geothermal also has challenges. If not carefully managed, wells can lose flow, pressure, or temperature over time. However, if well-managed, superhot systems could operate for 30-50 years at costs comparable to wind-generated electricity. Australia has vast experience in subsurface exploration, world-leading geoscience research, and strong engineering and technical capabilities. The country has strong potential for geothermal heating and electricity generation, according to assessments by the Australian Renewable Energy Agency, the Australian Geothermal Association, and Geoscience Australia. Preliminary estimates by the Clean Air Task Force indicate that tapping 1% of Australia's superhot rocks would provide the equivalent energy of 3 billion barrels of oil or 20 times the nation's electricity use as of 2021. However, upfront costs and uncertainty have prevented geothermal from becoming a major player in the energy sector. Deep drilling is still relatively expensive, and predicting target temperatures at depth remains difficult. To date, there hasn't been enough private investment to kickstart large-scale geothermal. But recent progress in countries like the US, China, and Germany shows that these challenges can be overcome. Tapping Australia's deep geothermal resources could unlock new sources of net-zero-emissions electricity for homes, industry, and transport, as well as hydrogen production, data centers, and critical minerals processing. If Australia is serious about a cleaner and more secure energy future, it's worth looking at the advances in deep geothermal. The first step would be to create a new Australian roadmap for deep geothermal energy, which would bring together recent advances in drilling and subsurface exploration, support pilot projects, and encourage collaboration with global leaders. If this succeeds, the heat that has powered Earth for billions of years could help protect its future.
